another "moment" for WOTY consideration (UNCLASSIFIED)

Thu Oct 15 18:38:50 UTC 2009

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Polly Gross _Western Motel_ New York : Atheneum, 1985 p. 52 [google
books]
"Whiskey tango fox trot. Will explain when I see you on the beach in
Hawaii, ha-ha."

Max Barclay _Red Mercury_ West Hollywood, CA : Dove Books, 1996. p. 244
[google books]
" "We have an emergency mission from CinC USACOM out of Norfolk. Are you
ready to copy?" "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over!. . . the expression meant
<i>what the fuck?</i>""

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Moment

Tee Morris, Evo Terra, Ryan Williams  _Expert Podcasting Practices For
Dummies_ Hoboken: Wiley 2007 p. 108 col 1 [amazon search inside the
book]
"And then there is the popular "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Moment" (from
<i>The Survival Guide to Writing Fantasy</i>) where authors, agents, and
publishers are asked, "What were you thinking when you did that?" "

Foxtrot Oscar
Mike Seabrook _ Conduct Unbecoming_ London : GMP ; Boston : distributed
in North America by Alyson Publications, 1991. p. 179 [google books]
"Fifthly, I shall tell them to foxtrot oscar until they've got something
in the way of allegations and evidence to back it up with."

Alan Sears _Uphill all the way: a crew member's inside story of the BT
Global Challenge_ Dobbs Ferry, NY : Sheridan House, 1998 p. 57
" 'Tell him to Foxtrot Oscar,' yelled Simon from the cockpit, wanting to
be rid of the distraction, but the voice persisted."

"A tricky tale to hang on a donkey" Author: ROBERT WINDER
The Independent on Sunday, (London, England) - Sunday, December 20, 1998
[page number not given in Newsbank database]
"And don't tell the Sun, or it might whack out a big " Foxtrot Oscar
Santa Klaus!" front page, but Father Christmas is a German too."

"Heartless" Author: Martin Wallace
Sun, The (London, England) - Saturday, July 22, 2000 page 1 [column
number not given in Newsbank database]
"A disgusted cop said last night: "We're furious. In police terms, our
top brass are going to tell him to Foxtrot Oscar." "

"Foxtrot Oscar" was the name of a restaurant/bistro in London at least
as far back as 1985, and the name of an Australian race horse as far
back as Sep 1983, thus continuing to validate Shapiro's Law.(see article
in 9/17/1987 Sydney Morning Herald)

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
> Behalf Of Jonathan Lighter
> Sent: Thursday, October 15, 2009 10:19 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: another "moment" for WOTY consideration
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
---------------
> --------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: another "moment" for WOTY consideration
>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> Wackipedia notes that the current NATO radiocommunications alphabet,
> the
> source of Whisky, Tango, Foctrot, was first "implemented" by the
> Interantional Civil Aviation Organization in November 1951. It was
> adopted,
> with some alterations, by NATO in 1956.
>
> During the Vietnam War the Air Force occasionally used the burlesque
> phrase,
> "What the fuck, over?" and they also used the NATO alphabet.
>
> The mirth resides in the fact that radio communications (the allusion
> in
> "over") must be as brief as possible, and expletives are forbidden.
So
> the
> phrase, to the discerning, implies a high-stress situation, possibly
> involving Murphy's Law.
>
> Thus (and there's a lesson here, you whippersnappers) "Whisky Tango
> Foxtrot"
> meaning "What the f^*k??" *could* be as creakily ancient as 1951-52,
> but I
> can't find a recorded trace of it before 2000.
>
> JL
>
>
>
> On Thu, Oct 15, 2009 at 10:56 AM, Mark Mandel
> <Mark.A.Mandel at gmail.com>wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Mark Mandel <Mark.A.Mandel at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: another "moment" for WOTY consideration
> >
> >
---------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----------
> >
> > I've seen "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot", though not AFAIR modifying
> "moment", for
> > several years at least.
> >
> > m a m
> >
> > On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 7:13 PM, Laurence Horn
> <laurence.horn at yale.edu
> > >wrote:
> >
> > >  From Arianna Huffington's argument that Joe Biden should resign
> and
> > > become the point person for opposition to the war in Afghanistan:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/why-joe-biden-
> should-resi_b_320929.html
> > >
> > >
> > > In June, Gen. Jones, the president's National Security Advisor,
was
> > > at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan, meeting with U.S. commanders
> > > there. This was shortly after the arrival of the 21,000 additional
> > > troops President Obama had sent over. Jones raised the question of
> > > what the president's reaction would be if he were asked for even
> more
> > > troops. Well, Jones said, answering his own question, if that
> > > happened, the president would probably have a "Whiskey Tango
> Foxtrot
> > > moment." In other words, wtf?
> > >
> > > Well, Obama has gotten that request, but it wasn't a "Whiskey
Tango
> > > Foxtrot moment" for him after all. Sadly, Newsweek reports that
> Obama
> > > is typically "looking for a middle way." But this isn't a
> negotiation
> > > for a used car, where you split the difference. It's either in our
> > > national security interest to be there or it isn't. It's either a
> > > necessary war or it isn't.
> > > ==================
> > >
> > > I haven't encountered Whiskey Tango Foxtrot moments before, at
> least
> > > not by name.
> > >
> > > LH
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
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> > >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
> --
> "There You Go Again...Using Reason on the Planet of the Duck-Billed
> Platypus"
>
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Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

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